Deryn

The reason I am still only part-time here (but at this time, and for the past 2 or so years, it is more here than there) is that I still have property down south and am still, even after years of sort of working on it, trying to sort things out there and pack it all up to the point that I can start to fix it up so I can then sell it. Long story but it has been slow going. At any given time I can only be 'resident' officially in one country but I hold passports for both. I spend winters and summers here - and drive down to NC in the spring and fall since I am not a hot weather person so I find myself totally enervated if the heat and humidity are too high in NC and I get nothing done. Plus the driving weather (and traffic loads) are usually better in those seasons. There are many places in Nova Scotia (further down the coast and also on Cape Breton Island and in Antigonish) where it seems that at least someone is allowed to sell from the docks or close by or from a truck along the road. Not sure why it is that that is not legal here - I believe it has to do with semi-political infighting between towns in this county (which now mostly consists of unincorporated 'towns'). I do know that the Fisheries people however practically live on the docks sometimes to ensure that boats coming in unload directly to trucks that set off for parts unknown and though I know some locals have an 'in' somehow, I don't nor do tourists. I suppose I could phone someone in the Fisheries department and ask them why this is, etc. All I know right now is what locals have told me. Could be that the fishermen themselves don't even mind though if they can sell for more elsewhere - this would be a very small market here. Will I stay here forever? That is a question I ask myself frequently. The situation for someone who is not related to anyone else here - my kids are thousands of miles in either direction and don't or won't travel often (at least to here) - is not as ideal as I once thought it could be, especially as one ages - and that is above and beyond just the food issues I have discussed here. But, one thing I know for sure is that I need all my ducks moved here and/or sold off before I contemplate moving once again. Frankly, I would be happy being a nomad seeking out, like Smithy and her husband do during the winter, all the wonderful little towns and food surprises across the US and Canada ... living in a class B RV ... but I don't think that is practical alone at this time in my life. Jaymes .. I am saving up for your airfare and car rental! Good deal on the airfare - hope that part holds up till next summer! Hope you will stay longer than the 2 hours it will take me to show you round this town.

I also had salmonella once. Three months of being almost incapacitatingly sick and in pain before it was even diagnosed. 4 days in hospital in isolation at the end of it all. No idea to this day what caused it but it was probably chicken. I have been excruciatingly cautious ever since and tend to throw away anything I have the least doubt about - and to wash my hands constantly when I am touching any foods I think have even a remote chance of being contaminated. That is one 'diet' I never want to go on again.

'Just desserts' for a 'foodie' who inadvertently moved to a 'food desert'? There are a fair number of parallels between how a rural food desert is defined in the US (according to that study you linked, helen) vs here - though I also think there are some differences too, not that that changes much except perhaps in the solution area. The local store here is 'fed' by the larger one in the town 70 miles away (or at least their distributor). Add on the costs of transportation and our prices out here, for older produce, etc. (I swear we get what they were about to throw away much of the time) are higher than they are for the larger town. On the other hand, they are lower than it would cost to travel to buy one's foods - if you figure in gas and time, etc. to drive the longer distance for more selection and perhaps a fresher product. But, yes, the population demographics for a 'food desert' to develop and persist appear right on the money when it comes to this place as well. I see that where I spend time in NC is absolutely NOT classified as a food desert - and I am pretty sure Ottawa in Ontario where I have spent a fair bit of time as well wouldn't be either these days, by anyone's definition, so it is possible that the deprivation I am feeling also is somewhat heightened by the fact of that contrast between those places I am used to and here in the wasteland. This is definitely a complex problem and the solutions, should anyone actually be interested in even trying to find them, are equally as difficult. As I said, a single old lady is probably not going to move that mountain in this instance, especially when, from what I can see, the local people don't even realize there is a problem. Lisa ... horrible as it may sound, your experience with the 'gourmet club' doesn't surprise me these days either - but I am sorry to hear about it. I certainly would not have returned either. I am fairly sure that would also happen here - or worse - which does influence my thoughts on whether I should even try to start such a group or not here. Sad commentary on western society today. I am almost willing to bet that people in poor areas of many eastern countries eat a lot better balanced, healthier and more interesting diets than most of us in North America (and much of Europe as well I suspect) today - and it is our own fault. And yet we persist in trying to get those 'poor underprivileged people' overseas to eat what we eat as though it was better for them, while they pull truly fresh vegetables, herbs and other staples from their fields and landscape on a daily basis. Not all 'progress' is good. Rachael Ray, The Chew, along with a few excellent and several decent (and less decent programmatically but not bad in terms of what foods they promote) Canadian food shows are easily found on what little tv we have available to most here. Food Network costs extra so it may not be as watched here, but, the rest are on network television. PBS was also good on Saturdays - though right now suddenly they seem to have mostly 'paid programming' instead of Jacques Pepin, Ming, Lydia, etc. for some reason ... not sure if that change is permanent .. hope not. I doubt many are watching though even if they can. Wish I knew about that - haven't been in many people's houses but the few I have were tuned elsewhere if the tv was on. While the grocery store here is technically a 'co-op' (belongs to and is controlled by the locals all of whom, including me, paid a small amount to 'join'), the fact is that we are really 'owned' when it comes to the food on the shelves (what the store here can even order) and the placement of those foods, by a much larger firm - Sobey's - who now own the right to 'distribute' here. And people here just accept that is what it is .. don't seem concerned at all with the junk and highly processed foods taking up 2/3rds, if not more, of the store (which also carries a smattering of hardware goods and lumber). Tere - I don't know about US and larger Canadian cities when it comes to 'online shopping' but the costs to order foods delivered from even Halifax to here would probably be prohibitive in Canada. Canadians do like online shopping but I don't think they do much grocery shopping online. Costco for instance - which is big with Canadians (nearest store to me is at least a 5 hour drive and because of that generally requires an overnight stay and for me to board my dog to get there) - doesn't offer any fresh food online. The internet, to me, is a fascinating thing in that it can bring together people with common interests who, in 'olden days' would never have found each other - and makes us feel as though we are part of a much larger group, but, it can also be isolating as well when one realizes those people with those shared interests are not just down the street and there will not be any face to face contact that can renew the spirit - and in this case, the palate. When one reads eGullet daily one can come to believe that most people actually would be interested in 'good food' - since food sustains life ... how much more basic can it be? - but, in this fast paced world it seems that too many are just living on what they think is 'fast food' but it is really junk. I doubt we will find a solution here for the 'food desert' issue (here or wherever you are either) but I want to thank you all for contributing and warming up this dull, cold March week for me at least. You all helped me sort through something that was, I admit, getting me down a bit. I greatly appreciate that effort. I am going to ponder a bit about what 'I' personally can do (if anything) to help, in any way, enlighten the locals here over time. But, in any event, I will just keep on keeping on when it comes to what I prepare and eat - and hope to someday find a kindred soul or two to share it with me here at the 'end of the world' - there must be some who think similarly out here somewhere!

The hospital has 6 beds but apparently they also have a dietitian - who I believe lives next door to me but I have not met her yet. I gather she came from around these parts originally but I think she just moved back after some time away. She may also work with the school - I don't know. But, hospital diets have never actually made too many I know jump with joy, even where there are many dietitians in larger facilities. There is always a doctor in town but we don't 'own' one. They rotate in for a week at a time from other places. My understanding is that the hospital more often houses hospice patients so they can be close to home when they pass, retirement home overflow and a basic lab than anything else. Anyone with any significant medical problem is shipped out or sent to Guysborough or Antigonish or New Glasgow depending on what it is, etc. There is also a small retirement home as well. There is one bank but I don't bank there so I don't know their staff. To my mind, one of the biggest issues here may be that not enough people grow a(n edible) garden any more (if they ever did). Once I get my property down south sold (heaven knows when that will be) I may be able to start getting people to realize the benefit of growing of herbs, edible flowers, etc. Right now I am not here during the spring (or fall) so getting my own in outside is iffy at best. There are 3 'sort of restaurants' - the pizza joint, a small lunch café, and, just outside of town, a small motel which has a dining room. The owner died a while back but someone still appears to be running it. He was German and his food wasn't bad but I imagine the menu is now standard 'working man's 'fare' (since most of the motel visitors seem to be driving electrical or construction trucks of some kind). There is an empty building in town that the motel owner apparently once used to own and had as a second restaurant. I enquired about whether it was still equipped but was told no, it had been stripped. Too bad. I had thought that if it had any equipment, I might be able to make it work to house a tea house or something simple like that for fun. Nice location near the docks but I wasn't here when it was still open so I don't know what kind of food they used to serve. It would not do me any good 'politically' to open a place that directly competed with any of these - so forget the designer pizzas, paninis or any kinds of interesting sandwiches/soups/even salads, or a fine dining establishment. They would not 'get' my concept for Asian food (they are used to what I call 'brown, over-sauced, heavy on the soy, sweet, almost tasteless Chinese-Canadian fare'). 'Tea' might fly but probably mostly with the women - and tourists in the summer. The guys would want hamburgers and heavier stuff I know so they wouldn't just drop in for lunch. Donair might be saleable too but that is not a specialty of mine. If I ever did open something here, just supplying it would be an issue since this place is not exactly on a main supply route for anyone. That is kind of why I really want to learn more about whatever hidden gems of farms, etc. there might be within a reasonable distance - for myself but also just in case I see some opportunity I can handle to do more down the line. Even lobster rolls are problematic here in the season most would want to eat them, because the lobster season here doesn't coincide with tourist season. You can always get lobster somewhere around the province on the coast but the seasons move from one place to another - and the larger tourist draw areas seem to have the best seasons. Not to mention, as I said, that I am not sure I can really legally buy it locally for resale purposes (much less for eating at home). Not making excuses here - this is fun to think about and I thank you all for contributing your thoughts - but, when it comes to helping the town itself with developing a different perspective on food, etc., as a real outsider, I don't think I will be able to make much headway - at least for some time. That might be different if I was hired officially for a role of that kind by the government or had a real chef's background/reputation that I could throw around but neither is the case. Would be nice to help improve their lives in any one of the excellent ways you have all suggested (and I have thought about too) but I am really not going to focus on that for now ... if it is meant to be, it will happen somehow in due course I think. I think though that the key (if I decide to pursue it sometime) may be through the library. On the other hand, how much would you charge me if you come to visit, Jaymes?

This is a kind of a mixed bag I think. When it comes to me personally, I can and will continue to eat what I want to eat where ever I am so that is ok, even if ingredients are difficult to get easily around here. When it comes to the town and the locals themselves, I doubt that just one complete outsider can make much of a dent in how they think about food or eat, no matter how energetic, resourceful or enthusiastic that person may be. I think it is sad that they choose to eat so poorly (in my humble estimation) and not seek to change what foods are available to them but I can see why that has happened and I doubt it is within my power to fix that either. So it is fun to dream about the kitchen parties, the supper clubs, the quirky food trucks, the catering establishment etc. but after doing some preliminary investigation locally I have determined that those just aren't a good fit here, especially at this time. Thanks for all your ideas - they are all excellent and believe me have all crossed my mind at some time. I don't give up easily if I think any idea has merit and is even possibly achievable - but, I am not yet certain that I should even try to 'change the world' here for others, sad though I think it is that their world appears to me to be so limited food-wise. Having previously taken on the challenge of trying to educate elderly people in a retirement home about tantalizing their palates with new and different tastes, and enjoying the experience but seeing that they just viewed me as entertainment for the most part, perhaps I am a bit once bitten twice shy about all this now. It was a very tiring (though enjoyable most of the time) and expensive venture - a good experience but I am sure I was not successful in my original aim unfortunately. I offered to help at the school last year - a volunteer group prepares breakfasts for all the kids - till I found out that that consists of opening a box of cereal, pouring the milk and wiping up the tables. Sorry .. I may sound horrible but I am not getting up at 6 am to do that any more without the prospect of a bit of culinary fun which does not seem to be on any local agenda I can find. I gather there are about 30 students - from kindergarten to grade 12. It isn't even called a 'school' - but an 'education center' (we are very socialist here!). Since I don't have small kids any more though I don't know what the school might want/need in the way of extra help (other than for this breakfast thing) ... they do employ some 'assistant' type locals to help I think with basic skills, etc. Over time I may investigate that idea, Smithy - sounds like fun to me but I am not sure it will fit with the school curriculum and I don't have much pull here ... but we will see. Smithy - yes, there is a very tiny library ... and indeed there is a 'book club' too. I was invited to go to their meetings - and wanted to but missed quite a few for a variety of reasons beyond anyone's control and let that go for the time being. Your idea is a good one though I would have to see if there is any interest there. The books that small book club (about 6 members I think - all female) generally reads are along the 'trash novel' line primarily from what I can tell from their emails. I wonder how I could get them to read a cookbook they have never even heard of before? Maybe 'Ideas in Food' would intrigue! Or Grant Achatz's accounting of his life. Probably too serious for around here ... perhaps Harry Potter or Winnie the Pooh or Willy Wonka would be better to suggest. Or Charles Dickens near the holidays. So off I go on another flight of fancy since I know there ARE many books which are not explicitly cookbooks but from which one can glean 'menu' ideas. Indeed, I have given dinner parties based on books myself in the past.

I am 'close to' Cape Breton but not close enough to benefit from those people who may be lured here due to what they perceive as a problem if the American election does not go as they would like it to (not that I truly believe many will actually emigrate anyway - though they may visit the island at least due to all the recent publicity). If they do come though I would definitely consider setting a much higher price for my house than I paid (up as far as the new market might bear) and selling it! The views here are nice but the town itself is not exactly 'picturesque' like some further down the coast (local apathy being what it is). Canso is also is a bit off the beaten track and will be passed by by many trekking to the island since one has to divert over an hour on a 2 lane (paved) windy/hilly road to get here. There is one draw here for some in the summer - the Stan Rogers Music Festival - but even it no longer brings out the crowds (who stay only a few days at best and seem happy with hot dogs and ice cream while here) it used to. Thanks though for understanding what I was trying to say. You are smarter than I was in just deciding, however much you like the town you like to visit, that moving there even semi-permanently would be a mistake. I will cope here but it is not as ideal as I had once hoped it might be. I would love to put it all down to just a touch of 'cabin fever' which can be easily assuaged with warm breezes and sunshine, but, I have realized that much more would be needed to cure what ails in this case. I would love to delight in local foods as the locals apparently do, but, what they are now eating just makes me sad. And yes, I would like people to share good food with too. I 'get' the concept of 'food deserts' in large urban centers but frankly didn't expect to find that sort of thing in the boondocks here for some reason. Though the reasons for that being so are not quite the same as they are in large cities ... a 'food desert' it is nonetheless. I am sure that, if there was the will to make this a culinary destination (such as PEI as a whole has tried to do with some success) for tourists, it could be done ... but there is just no heart or interest here and that is frustrating. One 'edging into elderly' person cannot move this mountain. But, feel free to come visit - I will be happy to feed you and yours!

Does anyone who still posts on eGullet, other than me, live in Nova Scotia right now? I have been a bit depressed lately about where I chose to buy a house, despite the fact that this area is beautiful, I am very close to the ocean from whence all manner of wonderful seafood is supposed to come, and I have a large house with good bones (and got it for a steal compared to what I might have paid for it located anywhere else in Canada), with a large kitchen - in which I store way too much food considering my household consists of only me and my dog now but I rarely cook any more (on the stove - the IP and my electric wok have seen a lot of use recently however). I eat what I like somehow despite all but it is a lonely feeling to think I may be the only one here with whom I can discuss culinary topics of regional interest with any success! The truth of the matter is that, while I think Peter the Eater (whose posts I have been re-reading lately and drooling over) and my childhood travels in this area, convinced me that Nova Scotia was full of interesting and delicious food havens, the place I chose to move to in Nova Scotia is definitely not even close to where those may be. I should have known that a place sometimes referred to as 'the end of the world' may indeed actually deserve that description, at least when it comes to food choices. Canso (which includes the small enclave of houses where I live, called Hazel Hill, just a mile down the road from Canso) was once a bustling fishing port but has seen very sad times of late. This is now a town of very old (and constantly dying) people, all of whom have (or had, in the case of those who have passed on now) magical stories of the 'olden days' but who have lost heart. One can find music occasionally but little laughter here any more. There are still fishermen here but most go away to fish or only fish to feed their own families it seems. There is still some 'fish packing' done locally too but I gather only for seafood to be shipped elsewhere - and there isn't much of it from what I can tell. When I bought my house here a few years ago, I had visions of throwing large dinner parties, replete with fresh looking/tasting colourful foods followed by fun, laughter filled, musical evenings with people dancing and singing and playing their instruments - 'kitchen party' or ceilidh-style in my dreams. I can see now though that that dream will never come to fruition unfortunately. I have lived in quite a few small towns in my life - the first being in the Yukon, far from the madding crowd and definitely far from a known purveyor of 'fresh' foods, and Frobisher Bay/Iqaluit where one fresh orange was hard to find and 10 times the price of that which was bountiful down south. I know what the food drawbacks may be in such places, but this one takes the cake. Somehow we managed up north to prepare foods that, even if a bit different from what the 'locals' ate regularly, was accepted and eagerly tried and enjoyed. I was always able to find others wherever I lived who appreciated colourful, fresh foods presented in an appetizing manner - except here it seems. They may be here (or nearby) here too but so far I have yet to unearth them - and I find the local cuisine is definitely not to my tastes - current or prospective. The local co-op grocery store where, especially in winter, I am often forced to shop has recently changed 'distributors' and the shelves have been 're-lined', supposedly to make things easier to find but, from my perspective, they just showcased what the locals are eating even more sharply than ever before - and it is not good. Just about everything, on every aisle, is ultra-processed (and mostly 'junk') food, full of chemical components that one cannot even pronounce. The 'fish/seafood' products, even those labelled as fresh, are mostly, according to the 'meat guy', shipped in from everywhere else and defrosted/relabelled. The laws now say that is ok I gather. There IS local fishing but the laws there, for some reason I cannot yet fathom, also mean that it cannot be sold in the local store or from the local docks (legally). Rarely do I see any product still made or produced in Nova Scotia or even Canada in this local shop. There is hamburger - but it comes in a tube and is repackaged in house. I am getting very picky in my old age I guess but I won't touch it because I have no idea where it comes from or what may be 'in' it. Much of the 'meat' actually seems to come in plastic tubs labelled 'riblets' - they sit on shelves and the floor away from the refrigerated section. Apparently those are a big seller. For me, that is so unappetizing that I cannot bring myself to buy them to try. And it seems no one here uses fresh herbs at all. Even the local pizza parlor uses only canned and jarred toppings, nothing fresh. And this is definitely a white Wonder bread, bologna and margarine town. At any rate, I buy chickens for my dog at the local grocery but very little else lately since it so depresses me. 10 minutes walking around and reading labels there takes my appetite completely away - but I am sure that is helping me lose a bit of weight and saves me money (except on the $15 chickens) though so there is always a silver lining I guess. I have tried, very carefully, to talk to locals about what foods they like to eat - but, frankly, what they like to eat these days, is what that store carries. I can survive fine but it makes me sad that I cannot see a way to invite any of them for those dinners I pictured because, though I know they would be polite, I am now fairly certain that the food I like to make is so far removed from what their traditional local tastes are they would either not eat much or they would not like it. I just cannot cook according to their tastes - I would get it wrong given my now longstanding love of 'fresh' foods with colour and a lot of 'taste' but not drowned in gravy any more or coated with fat and accompanied by one carb after another. I don't want to do that to them. They like their fish and seafood mostly deep-fried - a technique I never really liked but definitely cannot handle these days. I like my seafood much more 'nekkid' so to speak. They like their food overcooked and much of it sweet - sweet meat, sweet salads, sweet coated vegetables and heavy sweet desserts - as I discovered when I was once invited next door for dinner - where frankly I did what I would expect those same neighbours to do if they came here - I ate a bit and was polite but went home hungry. Unless I prepared something very safe in summer like perhaps a well done plain steak on the grill and offered sweet steak sauce to go with - I might chance that sometime - I just don't think I can accommodate them - and as a hostess that would be, as it always has been, my primary aim. So, as a good neighbour, I give them groceries once in a while (a few steaks I have found far afield, some freeze-dried treats - which they accept politely but honestly look horrified at) and I have received the odd bit of lobster or shrimp back on occasion which I accept with delight - but they do not divulge their secrets as to where they get them. I am certain that other areas of the province are culinary heavens - there is amazing food to be found in places like Halifax I know, and in the valley (Annapolis) but here ... not much that I can see unfortunately. I am ok personally when it comes to the food I like to eat. I am getting a bit bored but what I like is often quick to prepare which is good. I eat a lot of Asian primarily - heavy on the veg and light on the meat, with a zing to it all - (thank you, sriracha! - which I cannot buy here either) though some of the ingredients can be difficult to obtain within a day's drive of here. In essence though I have found that this place is just not the fresh food and seafood haven I had hoped it might be and I fear it will be years before I can move again, if ever - so I better get used to it! I can 'garden' and someday I will set up my indoor garden fully and I have my freeze-dryer (something that no one here has a clue about) but what I am missing most I think is the companionship of 'foodies' (hate that term but you know what I mean) in some proximity, especially those who may have or who still live in the north/northeastern area of the mainland, who have 'tips' for me on where to go to find the true jewels when it comes to foodstuffs - including the secret hideaways for buying really fresh local seafood, the 'grass fed' animals and free range eggs and 'organic' veggie farms. Summer is better when I can roam a bit but even that is iffy since I don't quite know where to roam (and roaming these days with an aging large dog isn't the easiest either). There are farmer's markets in summer (though again one needs to drive at least 70 miles each way and get there early morning - not something I am good at doing) but if there are other secret places to get things like that closer by, I don't know about them. I am not related to anyone here - and the network of 'related' folks is very tight - they keep their secrets well apparently or they just don't have any of that sort more probably. Funeral fare (I haven't yet seen a wedding - there are few young people left here any more I gather) is like what I remember from childhood - white bread egg/cheese/lunchmeat sandwiches and 'butter tart' rich, sweet squares. This is the standard served at all social and business meeting functions from what I can gather. I generally offer my condolences and depart fairly quickly when that part of the ritual is ushered out of the kitchen. I feel badly at those times (even though I know I won't be much missed) but I think it better to leave than to sit with an instant coffee and an empty plastic plate in front of me when these very friendly and genuinely nice people feel it is their responsibility to make me eat something - and I know I just can't bring myself to do so. My bad. I now have a personally trained palate and aesthetic sense that no longer seems to fit in a small town of this type (non-transient). It is not their fault. If I had a million dollars, I would start a restaurant here and take the massive losses that I would be certain to incur as I tried to 'educate' the locals (at a price they can afford to pay - this is a poor area now) about anything other than what I call 'junk food'. But, I don't and I am realizing I am too old to take on that crusade, even if Jamie Oliver were to visit my establishment on a weekly basis to help promote it all. I asked about what kind of a restaurant might work here and was bluntly told that unless one sold hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries and (crappy) ice cream (and little else) to forget even trying. Not even good pizza with fresh and different toppings (i.e beyond pepperoni and cheese) would fly here. I thought about offering to give cooking demos at the grocery store but a) there is no room in those crowded junk food aisles to set up a station and b) after numerous conversations with the locals I have determined they are just not open to real 'change' in their diets no matter what I might convince them to taste under those circumstances and c) it would probably devolve into me inserting frozen breaded highly processed chicken bits into a Cuisinart oven and trying to make some kind of sauce that replicates the taste of the sweet commercially produced stuff they like to dip that sort of thing into around these parts. It just makes me sad that the locals see no other option but to eat a massive amount of junk food. I am no 'angel' but I don't eat processed foods if I can help it and I am still chunky, but, it is sad to see so many Canadians, especially around these parts, who must be now composed primarily of chips and candy, boxed and frozen pizza, and fake 'side dishes' out of a package - since there is little else they can buy in the store. In larger, less remote places, they at least have options so it is more their fault than those of the stores - here, I can only blame the 'distributors', an evolving tradition based on foods probably best eaten if one is working outdoors under harsh circumstances year round, and governments who have stopped even locals from buying their own fishing 'products' in favour of importing shrimp and other seafood from polluted warm waters in far east countries, or, even though more local, 'farmed' fish raised under circumspect conditions off our own coast. I should mention that, if I can describe or preferably show a package of a product I would like to see stocked, the store will try (not always successfully) to bring it in but then I am the only one who buys it and the rest may go bad if I don't buy it all which makes me feed badly so I don't do that much any more. I have also toyed with the idea that someone (me, if I had that million bucks) should just start a store that would stock all the things I think people (especially me) should be eating/using/etc. but which are unavailable here currently - but again that would be a real losing proposition here. Ok .. I am going back to being upbeat and doing most of my posting about the marvels the rest of you get to experience from the fresh foods around you in warmer or more western climes. And then in a few weeks I will drive back down south and enjoy what I can along the way and during my stay there so that I don't feel so sorry that I cannot find the same in this area - because the locals are not interested in that sort of fare and what they demand IS eventually what the store will/would stock - which I believe would be better for everyone. Ah well - can't fight city hall it is said. Having dumped all that (with which I have no doubt unfortunately discouraged anyone new from ever moving to or visiting this area of a very beautiful province - sorry about that), I will reiterate my first question ... does anyone on eGullet still reside in (any part of) Nova Scotia, other than me? I know Darienne has some family in Halifax but I don't think they post here, do they? Anyone else?

When/if refugees are being relocated to a large center with a district that may already house many compatriots and has a well developed shopping area that focusses on trying to bring in foods from the homeland so people can at least try to recreate what they left behind, it might be apropos to perhaps get someone from their new community to help you plan the 'tea' and assist with planning/cooking the food. However, are there any residents of your relatively small town or a town close by who are Syrian who you could enlist to help with this? Is there fairly easy access to the proper ingredients so you can even approximate what you think they may be missing? Whatever you serve I am sure will be less important than the 'welcome' that holding the event will demonstrate. I am sure they will appreciate whatever you do or serve. That said however if they will not be able to get the ingredients to continue cooking in the style they used to have (and by the way, I think most just left there only a few weeks ago, not many years ago in most cases - many have been living in apartments in Turkey or other countries - just not in Syria - countries where the foods are similar and available) and you are not that familiar with what they may be missing, I personally might err on the side of treating them to new tastes - and instead concentrate more on learning a few words of their native language - or concentrate on learning about their foods (but not trying to replicate them) so you can talk to them (possibly through an interpreter - hope there will be one available if need be?) about what and how they will eat going forward given a limited availability of their probably preferred ingredients in your particular area. They will have to adapt more quickly where you are than they would in perhaps Calgary or Vancouver or Toronto I would guess. I thought this article from the Globe and Mail was interesting if not exactly about holding a welcome party: Why the family kitchen is an important focus when welcoming syrian refugees. It points out that what is familiar to many Syrians is Ceylon tea - perhaps boiled with sugar and served in small glass cups, and that even if you could find ingredients completely familiar to them, 'miles' will always make the food taste different.

Show them truly Canadian food. Someday maybe they will show you Syrian food - and be proud to do that. I would not, at this point, try to make them feel at home by making food that is too close to what they may have eaten back home.

Welcome to eGullet, gary. My personal philosophy when it comes to Thai (or most other cooking) is that one takes general direction from cookbooks, learns the basic techniques, ingredient tastes and combinations, experiments to find the mix that works for oneself, and then relaxes. After all, most Thai cooking/recipes/types of recipes are just the result of home cooking - and the taste would be different in every home you visit over there - or every restaurant you visit here or there for that matter. Learn the general technique and what a dish might look like .. and then use whatever ingredients you have that might get you there or close. The purpose of cooking is to make what one is going to enjoy eating - and everyone has different tastebuds so how can you be 'incorrect' when it comes to flavour if YOU like it? You might try mixing up your curry paste in a blender rather than trying to do it all manually in a mortar. There really are no prizes for killing yourself to recreate a paste that even in smaller places in Thailand today is often done by machine too. And indeed it seems that many home cooks in Thailand are now using premade pastes as well and say there is no shame in that. Taste as you go along ... if you don't like what you taste .. adjust it - add more chilis or lemongrass, etc. And there is another point - you may be using 'authentic' ingredients but they may not have the same pungency as they would have if just pulled from a Thai field, etc. so you just need to develop both your own taste and a feel for what the end product is you want to produce. Keep practicing.

Ah, I understand then. But, you could make another one now - you have the experience - and not worry so much about it being so perfect. Pull out the first one when company comes. Or, perhaps you could get a welder to make a metal band to put around the outside so if you hit a bit too hard, at least the whole thing shouldn't fly apart. Or you could buy a cheaper wood board to use - I do think wood is your best bet.

I can tell you, gfron1, if I was living in the St. Louis area and you came to town, I would want to go to your restaurant and it would not matter to me if I had to pre-pay or not! You know your intended clientele well then ... I wasn't aware that you did. Go for it.

I use my heavy cleaver on my bamboo cutting board - not end grain. So far so good. I love this cleaver - it is so substantial that perhaps I don't have to hit the bones so hard - not sure - but I haven't had anything split apart (other than the bones) so far. I don't have a tree slab cutting board (would love one but it has to be big - I have a really hard time for some reason with small cutting boards). I guess ideally though I would love to have a really large end grain 'island' type meat cutting 'board' like I have seen at some old fashioned butcher stores. Yes, the wood is 'dented' and 'scratched' over time with the use of heavy knives and probably cleavers but that is the charm of it, isn't it? YMMV since I am more into utility and character than 'modern, clean' decorating. Why exactly won't you use yours on your end grain board?

I was just at my small local 'co-op' grocery store (which is now supplied almost entirely by Sobey's - ugh) and spent a few minutes perusing the boxed mac and cheese (especially the Kraft) products and I see that ONLY 2 types of Kraft m&c 'dinner' (currently only the boxes labelled KD and containing 'shapes' for kids - underwater sea and abc's) have moved to annatto as the colouring agent. The store now carries many 'versions' of Kraft m&c dinners it seems - whole wheat, extra 'veggies' (cauliflower in the pasta), spicy, white, etc. aside from the standard 'orange ... 'I grew up on it' variety. They varied in their ingredients - although most say 'cheese' is a part of their 'cheese' powder, that ingredient is always listed well after the 'whey'. Some of them had cellulose, others didn't. The boxes that still say Kraft Dinner on them all seem to contain something called tetrazine as a colourant. However, there was one good thing I noticed about the Kraft boxes - none of them seem to list any 'soybean oil', a substance I did find listed on the 'Compliments' (Sobey's store brand - often associated with Jamie Oliver whose name goes on some of their products) M&C 'dinner' boxes. Kraft purports to use 'butter' instead.

gfron1 - I presume you have done the appropriate demographic research for the St. Louis area (i.e. I just looked here city data link St Louis). I should think the demographics of the particular city you will locate your restaurant in would greatly influence whether a pre-paid system might even have a chance of being feasible. I see that, in St. Louis proper at least, the median income appears rather lower than I would think would make that kind of system 'popular' at least before you have a 'reputation'/track record where you could draw in people from well outside the area. I also see that it seems that St. Louis is losing population at least in recent years and isn't that large to begin with (although I know it is much larger than the town where you currently reside). Perhaps you know more about that area than I do. Just a personal comment about that - I would go 200 miles to avoid St. Louis these days - because I have been there but as a city, it not only just doesn't appeal to me, but with the tensions there in past years, I am not sure I want to go too close, even for a wonderful dinner at your pending new establishment. So, of course, take my comments with a grain of salt. However, some people do like the city even if I don't, so I think it is important that you consider the opinion of your local target market. While your price point sounds fine to me (and definitely a bargain from what I know about your culinary finesse, etc.), and the system you are proposing would be viable for me for perhaps that one special occasion a year, what would people from St. Louis think, especially if many are probably more on a beer and chips budget and/or have not been sufficiently exposed to 'haute cuisine' yet to appreciate why they should make the up front 'investment' just to try your fare?

If you have a really good blender, you can take regular sugar and whirl it up a bit to create 'superfine' sugar. For small amounts, it might also work to use a (clean) coffee grinder though I have never tried that.

I've been using pure avocado oil lately for just about everything, which means it is often used for Asian recipes since that is what I cook almost daily. I bought a large bottle somewhere but can't recall if it was in Canada or the US. I can't recall how much it cost but it must have been semi-reasonable or I probably wouldn't have purchased it for cooking purposes. It has a very high smoke point temperature (500F/260C) and seems pretty tasteless to me. Mind you I have not tried it for 'deep frying' (because it has been many years since I used that technique) but with the high smoke point I am sure it would be decent, if pricey. I have looked and looked for rice bran oil and so far haven't been able to find any (even in the Asian stores I have visited in the past couple of years). I won't use peanut oil or soy or canola. The first and last I just don't trust their sources. Ditto on the soy but soy I also have to avoid if possible for medical reasons.

My mac and cheese would taste better than any 'out of the box' M&C I have ever tasted - however, I am not sure that is a fair comparison ... they are just very different products despite the name being somewhat similar.

It 'used to be' called Kraft Dinner in Canada. It has now been renamed to 'KD' - which is a title even less explanatory of its contents! Read the labels, folks.

Thanks, rotuts. I look forward to a post from you detailing what they say about the ability to use this machine without a smartphone/app when they reply.

I agree with you. However, sometimes a set (even if complete) is difficult to sell because it was monogrammed - which was the case with mine. I loved the silver but the set was no longer complete and could not be filled in, especially because it had not one but 3 fancy monogram letters on each one (they belonged to my grandparents). I used it for many years but finally realized that my lifestyle had changed so much it probably would never be used again in my home. I just tried to 'imagine' that the person who bought it loved it and would keep it - and that it wasn't someone who would actually melt it down.

Good looking oven. I might be interested in one of these (since it is very clear they do intend that you can cook whatever you want in it and won't be stuck with ordering their food) except that it appears that you have to have a smartphone to work it for the 'do your own thing' at any rate. Too bad they didn't integrate a panel on the front with those nifty stylized buttons on them that appear to be part of the app so a phone is not absolutely critical for that - and I guess also allow you to connect somehow to your computer/laptop if an 'update' needs to be uploaded. I could see this product being also useful for the elderly (especially when they have kids or part-time caregivers at a distance who could buy this and maybe even the meal packages for their parent(s), or could make meals to bring over and freeze in their parent's fridges to be pulled out daily. Having done the 'pre-cook or assemble and deliver meals for my parents' thing for many years in the past, I see potential there. I think they are deliberately vague about the packaged meal 'portions' however. In one place I read that the meals could feed UP TO 4 people each. In another, they talk about the packages containing one or two portions while also talking about the cost of a 'meal' being $10-15. Is a 'portion' deemed to be a 'meal' (for how many? I think only one!). I suspect that one needs to order, at $10-15 per PORTION (400-800 kcal each portion) ... which, by the way, IF the food looks like what is pictured and that quality can be maintained over time and varying shipping distances, etc., may not be a bad price in this day and age for that quality, etc. ... but if you had 4 people in a household that could be a very expensive meal. Perhaps it is doable however if you are a high tech 'kid' who works 20 hours a day and lives alone.

I fear that my 600 won't need repair till the next millennium - when of course no parts will be available. You just reminded me that I have one - which sits idle about 11.99 months of every year. But, I will bookmark this thread .. just in case I ever decide to use it again. I am glad to know that, should I ever need to, they are easy to repair.Thanks.

If you (or your sister) has a decent auction house that takes silver nearby, I would take a few pieces down to them and see if they will do a quick appraisal or at least tell you if what you have is enough to be worth auctioning. I sold quite a bit of silver a few years ago through an antique auction house in the Asheville area. One cannot of course tell exactly how much one will get till the gavel falls when disposing of it that way, mind you but if you have a pattern that enough people are often interested in buying, the auction house will be able to give you an idea of its saleability, etc. The other thing you might do is, because the flatware is silver, hold on a bit if regular silver prices are down and consider selling when it is as high as it has been for a while. The silver part is not its only value, but, it IS significant, especially if this is not a pattern that a lot of people are interested in buying - someone will buy it at auction for silver value alone (to melt down if possible).

I am finding the 'keep warm' function (and the sauté function too) VERY handy. In fact, the other day, my fridge was full and 'my cold room' (which is one of the garage or the unheated room right beside it - winter only) was too warm to store the pot - and I was feeling very lazy anyway so I think I hit the 'keep warm' button several times and kept some chicken stock I had made earlier on 'warm' all night and most of the next day before I dealt with it. So, after about 20 hours on that setting, it gelled beautifully (since the stock still contained chicken bones at the point I left off). The bones were so nicely soft that I could mash them with a fork to be part of the dog's dinner. He needs the calcium but being a finicky eater he decided he was on a diet that did not include bones that day so they eventually went the way of all good compost. However, I shall use that method again in future. I also often just use the sauté function (with no pressure cooking at all) to make Asian concoctions rather than haul out the wok or use the stove.